Six Months
by SoraStarkiller
Summary: The story of the development of Cassie and Connor's relationship through six months. From their small budding feelings to the blooming of love and happiness. But pain and horror will forever paint the love life of a superhero.
1. Month 0

1

Cassie couldn't believe this had happened. Against her protests her two teammates picked her to escort the guy out while they took on the mooks. All she was supposed to get Dr. Peterson out of there. That was it. Yet, somehow she'd managed to screw it up. They'd been captured and no one was coming to help. Not soon anyway. Now they were both in some kind of grey cement interrogation room, much the same as the one they'd rescued the Dr from originally, tied hand and foot to metal chairs with some kind of special binding. The coarse silver strips seemed to tighten when she struggled and was sapping her strength. Briefly she thought this must be how Connor feels around kryptonite.

"What are we going to do?" The Dr's voice was scared and his whole body was shaking. Cassie resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sigh in frustration. She knew, technically, her entire job revolved around protecting civilians, but sometimes (always) she really hated being around them.

"You keep your mouth shut, and I try to find us a way out of here." She said through gritted teeth. Cassie wasn't the best at paying attention to, or necessarily remembering, mission details. She was more of a take action kind of person, tell her who or what needed to be taken down and she'd do it, the 'why' didn't usually matter to her. But in this case, she did remember that they had rescued this guy before the bad guys could get any information out of him. So making sure he didn't tell them anything was her job now. The worst part was that Dr. Peterson looked pretty weak. Weak in the sense that as soon as a little pressure was added he'd start spilling his guts. Cassie was not going to let that happen. She was not going to fail her mission in every possible way. No, this (she was pretty sure) she could do.

Both of them looked up at the sound of the lock clicking and the doorknob turning. The man who entered the room was average. Yes, that was exactly the word Cassie would use. Good, she could handle average. Another man, tall and thin, rolled in a metal cart covered by a sheet before leaving. Dr. Peterson looked like he was going to faint he was so pale. To an extent Cassie could understand his reaction. Both of them knew what was under that sheet.

"Now, Dr. Peterson," the man said darkly, more than a hint of annoyance lacing his voice. "You're going to tell me exactly what I want to know." That was when he ripped the sheet from the metal cart revealing the assortment of knives, pliers, and rods. By this time Cassie didn't think the Dr. would even be able to speak he was so terrified. But, still, she wasn't going to let this civilian just get tortured.

"Really?" Cassie's voice made the man turn around, and judging by his momentarily confused expression he must have forgotten she was even there. That kinda pissed her off. Sure she wasn't a big hulking guy, but she was still intimidating (Probably)! She continued as she had planned though. "That's how you're going to start this?" She could tell the man was trying to decide whether to just ignore her. "This isn't your first time is it?" She asked incredulously. Now she had his full attention.

"What?" At least he knew it was an insult. Cassie was just glad the guy really did seem like an amature, otherwise he might have just ignored her.

"Well, you're going about this the wrong way," Cassie somehow was able to sound like she knew exactly what she was talking about. "You're an amature aren't you?" She gave him a once over making as if she was not impressed, which was fairly easy since she wasn't.

He turned on her and stalked over to where she was, looking down at her menacingly. She tried, and was successful, in giving a bored disinterested look.

"You wanna say that again, blondie?" He hissed angrily, giving her a front row view of his in-serious-need-of-brushing teeth. His breath was worse.

"FYI, they're called breath mints." There was that momentary confusion again. Immediately giving way to rage. Yeah, Cassie had to admit, she was great at pissing people off. At least he'd seemed to forgotten all about Dr. Peterson. It took only a second for these thoughts to go through her head, which was good since that was all the time she had before she felt the man's fist slam into the side of her face snapping her head to the side.

Cassie was stunned for a moment, not because he had hit her (she'd been expecting that) but because of how much it hurt. Whatever these binding were they were suppressing more than just her strength. She could almost feel the bruise beginning to form, but she couldn't let this be the end of it. If he thought he'd won then he'd remember why he was there, and then it'd all be over. So, she turned back to look up at him keeping the bland nonchalant expression firmly in place.

"You'd probably benefit from some hand lotion too." Yeah, he'd definitely forgot all about Dr. Peterson after that.

He hit harder the second time and while Cassie didn't want to give him the satisfaction of crying out, but a grunt of pain escaped her. Either her lip had split or the inside of her cheek had been cut on her teeth because she could taste the metallic liquid and could feel a hot trail of blood coming from the side of her mouth. The third time, she heard a cracking noise and an unbearable searing pain shot through her nose. Blood spurted from her nose, both from where it had been cut on the outside and from within. Cassie had a hard time focusing her eyes. She tried to prepare herself for the next one, but it didn't come. Well, not to her face. Instead she felt a gut-wrenching punch to her stomach making her cough violently. Her blurred eyesight recognized her own blood splattering the floor. Cassie shifted her eyes up to him. He looked so pleased with himself.

"Seriously," she coughed, blood spilling from her mouth and down her chin. "Aloe. Vera." Her voice was dark and just a little mocking.

That's when he grabbed one of the metal rods on the cart and struck the side of her arm. This time she did cry out. Why was she provoking him again? Her mind was spinning and clouded. The sound of blood rushing in her ears almost drowned out the harsh crunching sound, but she didn't miss the pain in her hand or the sound of her own screams. She was silenced almost immediately though when the rod made contact with the side of her head. Tears of pain prickled her blue eyes. Her head slumped forward. Evidently he must have thought she had passed out as she heard the metal rod fall to the floor the clanging of the metal loud and definitive. The man gave a slight scoff, and Cassie would bet he was sneering. There was a long silence, or maybe time was just dragging for her.

"Well now Dr. Peterson," his words sounded far away as did the Dr.'s high pitched whine. She had to do something or Peterson was going to tell them whatever they wanted to know.

"That all you got?" Her voice was rough and her words were a little slurred but it made him turn. Slowly, Cassie lifted her head to look at him through her blond tendrils. The pain of moving was worth it just to see his face. Shocked, confused, astonished, and angry. The fact that not only was she still conscious but that she was able to sound both unaffected and mocking made something snap in him.

In one quick stride he was in front of her, grabbing her harshly by the hair and yanking her head back his fist poised to strike. Cassie wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had no strength, couldn't move and if she blacked out Dr. Peterson was a gonner and her mission was failed. It was over, she realized, he'd won. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"Let her go." Her eyes snapped open. That was odd. Cassie recognized that voice, although it was much harder and fiercer than she ever remembered hearing it. But that was impossible, she hadn't heard the door open (or be knocked down). Then again she was having a really hard time hearing anything. A really hard time thinking too. In a moment she found herself freed of the man's grasp. A blur of black passed in front of her and the man disappeared.

"Superboy he's out!" Funny, that sounded like Nightwing. But he never came into the field, not with her anyway. "Stop!" He sounded frantic. And then he was kneeling in front of her trying to find a way to get the bindings off of her.

"Dr. Peterson," God she sounded like drunk she was slurring so badly. It didn't help her mouth was continuously filling with blood. She probably had head trauma. "Get Dr. Peterson," she mumbled, "I'm fine." He frowned, but Nightwing left her line of vision.

And then he was there. "Connor?" His crystal blue eyes met her's briefly before he reached for her bindings. He hissed in pain when he touched them. Glancing around he grabbed a set of pliers from the metal cart. Carefully Connor used them to take hold of the bindings. He was able to unwrap the silver coils from her wrists and ankles revealing a ring of bruising and welts around them. The silver bindings reminded Cassie of a paperclip as they seemed to bend so easily. Great, she'd been held captive by paperclips. She would have laughed at the thought had the idea of it not been so painful. Once freed she tried to get to her feet, but her legs didn't seem to be able to support her, which annoyed her to no end since she hadn't even been hit in the legs! Connor caught her by the shoulders before she could fall. She groaned in pain when his hand made contact with the rod shaped bruise on her right arm. He let go of it immediately and shot her an apologetic look.

"Sorry," his words echoed and she seemed to be hearing them from underwater. He took her good arm and placed it over his shoulders, his other arm going around her waist to help her walk.

This was mortifying. Here she was having to be rescued like some damsel in distress. Real attractive. On top of that she probably looked terrible, and she did. The right side of her face was practically one big bruise, her nose was broken an angry red gash across the bridge attested to that, and blood trails out of her nose and mouth, her chin being almost entirely bloody from all the coughing. Blood matted her golden hair and her right hand was an angry red and purple; she couldn't seem to move it. Her upper right arm was bruised as well. If her face had had any blood left she would have blushed furiously. Cassie took some solace in the fact that she hadn't failed the mission this time. She had been the only one on it (at least this portion of it) and had managed to succeed. A smile made its way to her face, although she immediately regretted it and winced in pain. Connor shot her a sideways glance.

The longer she was free of those bindings the better she felt. Unfortunately, Cassie didn't possess any regenerative healing abilities, but her invulnerability dulled the pain quite a bit.

Connor led her through the hallways and they finally ended up in some kind of lobby. It looked as though a huge battle had happened. The marble floor and pillars were cracked and there was debris everywhere. There, in the room, was her team: Batgirl and Bumblebee. For some reason Miss Martian, Robin, Impulse and Beast Boy were there too. It dawned on Cassie that this mission that they had thought was simple and low profile was probably a lot bigger than they had thought. They all looked worse for wear, their uniforms were torn, they all looked sore, and some of them had cuts and bruising. Despite that, they all had an air of pride and accomplishment. They'd won their battle.

All of her teammates expressions fell immediately upon seeing Cassie. The way they were looking at her it was clear that they were shocked, but worse they looked sorry for her. She hated that. What had happened had been up to her, she didn't regret it and she would not be treated like some victim needing saving.

So she did the only thing she could think of. She gave the biggest grin she could, which was extremely painful, and gave a victory sign with her good hand.

"Mission accomplished!" Cassie tried really hard not to slur her words or let any more blood leak from her mouth. She was successful on both counts (mostly). Her words didn't exactly have the effect she had hoped for. Some of them gave a weak smile back but mostly it stayed a very grim atmosphere.

Connor led her out of the compound, the other falling in behind. Batgirl walked along side Cassie glancing at her a few times saying nothing.

"Are you... okay?" Batgirl's voice was soft and quiet. Cassie groaned inwardly. She knew what was happening. Batgirl had been team leader and under her 'watch' Cassie had been captured and ruthlessly tortured blah blah blah. Nightwing was like this too. Angsting about their decisions and feeling like any little papercut was somehow their fault.

"I'm fine," Cassie said smiling trying to sound as normal and chipper as she could. Batgirl's expression didn't change. "Really, it looks worse than it is." In fact it was very likely the opposite, and all this smiling and keeping her body un-slumped and her injured arm in a normal position instead of hanging there like the limp piece of flesh it was, was making it all worse. Cassie was glad of her powers return, without them she probably would have blacked out by now. It looked however, as though Batgirl was going to angst no matter what. They fell back into silence until they got to the ship.

Connor helped her in and got her seated in the back of the ship, and then for some reason stayed with her. He probably thought she was going to fall over again any minute. She heard Nightwings voice giving some kind of orders and she could hear the others start to chatter quietly as the ship took off. They couldn't get back to the base fast enough, Cassie just wanted a shower and then to sleep for eighty hours. Of course she'd be sent to the infirmary straight away, which would be annoying. But after that it'd be over.

"Why'd you lie to them?" Cassie looked up at Connor's words and turned to face him. She blinked.

"What're you talking about...?" She asked giving a small laugh. Ouch. She needed to stop doing that. He frowned and narrowed his eyes, as though he was saying 'don't lie to me.' Cassie sighed, "I really don't..." She looked away from him.

"Cassie."

"Because, all they seem to notice is...this," she gestured to her bruised and battered face with her good hand. "They don't seem to notice that I..." she paused. "That I didn't screw up this time" Cassie finished quietly. Okay, she'd screwed up a little. She'd got them caught. But she'd made sure he was safe! Made sure he didn't tell them anything! She chanced a glance at Connor. His expression hadn't really changed.

"Cassie," Connor placed a hand on her shoulder, the uninjured one. "You did good today. But you shouldn't of had to..." his jaw clenched at the memory. "You shouldn't of had to gone through that." She wasn't sure why but she felt embarrassed again and was glad the bruising and blood covered the heat that flooded her cheeks. What was wrong with her? She could handle a severe beating but not a conversation with the boy she liked? She looked away a small smile on her lips, and this time she didn't mind that it hurt.

Six months from now she'd be all healed. Six months from now she'd learn Connor had insisted on going with Nightwing to get her and that he'd almost beaten her attacker to death. Six months from now she'd ask him out, and six months from now he'd say 'yes'.


	2. Month 1

2

It had been three weeks since she'd been released from the infirmary, and she must have been going for some kind of record. Seriously. Okay, maybe that wasn't fair. I mean it was practically a staple for superheros to get captured...escape...get captured. Usually they' find out some useful information along the way. But this irked Cassie. Caught again. So here they were, the three of them, behind unbendable bars (what was the point of having super strength if you couldn't even bend some bars!) and a guard sitting there watching them, weapon trained on them. At least this time it wasn't her fault and she wasn't alone. Beast Boy and Impulse were with her. And it was due to Impulse they were there. Which wasn't really fair since it wasn't something he could control. His leg had been brutally broken. Glancing over at it Cassie shivered at the unnatural angle in which it lay. His bone was visible poking out of the top of his knee, the blood oozing from the wound. They were all scared sure (well, not _that_ scared they were heroes after all), but the more Cassie looked at Impulse's wound the more she realized how serious it was. If the damage was permanent...

"Cassie," Beast Boy's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "He's losing a lot of blood." She knew what he was really saying. 'What do we do?' Yes, that question. Again. She wished she hadn't been the oldest one there. It meant she was in charge almost by default. Something she wouldn't have normally minded. Right now she did. Because it meant she had to do something.

Beast Boy was right of course. She herself had just been thinking about the ramifications of Impulse not getting medical attention right away. But what was she suppose to do? Her strength wasn't going to help them, her flight wasn't going to help them, the guard who had the key and only way to open the lock since a fingerprint was needed too (curse modern technology!). But the guy was on the other side of the room and- … … No, no, no, no. Why would she even think that? She bit her lip and her fists clenched at the thought. The more she thought about it though the more it seemed like it would work especially since the guard had seemed to be checking her out when they were brought in. And because in her experience guys seemed to get really stupid around girls with... large assets.

So okay, she had a "secret weapon," as her mother called it (probably only to make her feel better). Cassie had been embarrassed to death about it, largely because she was teased about it in school. Up until she found how to hide them. Which she did quite well, she thought. No one knew, and half the time even Cassie forgot.

She glanced over at Impulse and Beast Boy. It was worth it wasn't it? To make sure Impulse wouldn't ruin his leg forever, and to take some action instead of sitting around waiting. She wondered whether they would think less of her after this though. Giving a deep sigh, and after seeing Beast Boy and Impulse weren't really looking at her (the guard couldn't really see her from the angle she was at), she lowered the zipper on her shirt. Quickly and covertly she reached inside and unzipped her sports bra. She felt her face heat up slightly. She left the zipper of her shirt down a little, just enough to see some cleavage. Although not without her binding her chest was well... she certainly wasn't flat chested before but now, well you couldn't miss them. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage. She stood up and walked towards the bars. Now, how should she approach this?

"Hey!" Cassie called out grasping the bars lightly with her hands and pushing herself up against the bars just a little. "Could we get a first aid kit or something?" The guard looked at her and blinked. "He's bleeding out!" She saw his eyes moving over her body (gross!) and settle right where she knew they would. He seemed speechless. She smooshed herself closer into the bars. That hurt a little, but it gave a very nice effect to her...yeah. "I'm sure you're not suppose to let your prisoners die of blood loss!" The guard stood up and walked towards her stopping a few feet away. Too far. "Did you-"

"Shut up." Cassie blinked. He was still looking at her though.

"Well that's rude!" She was just trying to keep the conversation going, trying to get him to take just a few more steps forward. She gave a huff, which made her chest bounce just a little. He took another step forward.

"Tell you what blondie," what was with these guys and that nickname? What was this the umpteenth time someone had called her that? "Maybe we can make a...deal" She tried not to let the disgust to register on her face.

"A deal?" Playing dumb and innocent. The second thing she was a master at, aside from pissing people off. She saw his hand twitch. Then he came towards her and that's when she acted. Her hand shot out between the bars grabbing him by the front of his shirt. Yanking him towards her his head slammed into the metal bars, once, twice, a few more times for good measure (not at all because of the lecherous way he'd been looking at her. Oh no. Cassie didn't hold grudges. Much).  
When he was out cold, which was after the first four collisions with the bars, she dragged his body over to the prison door panel moving his hand to the fingerprint pad and grabbing the key from his belt. The door clicked open. She beamed.

"Alright lets go!" Cassie turned back to her teammates, a wide grin plastered to her face. But then she noticed how red Beast Boy's face had gotten, and Impulse's too (even though he'd lost a lot of blood). "Wha-" Than she looked down to where their eyes seemed to be. Her shirt was still unzipped. With a gasp she whirled around quickly pulling the zipper as far up as it could go, her own face as red as a tomato. Even hidden under her black shirt they were still overly prominent now that they were...ehm...free. She turned back around her face still red. Both the boys were looking away now.

She helped Beast Boy get Impulse up, an arm around Beast Boy's shoulders to steady him. Cassie glanced outside the holding cell room. It looked clear so she motioned for them to follow. They were making good time and hadn't run into any guards as of yet. Of course just by thinking what great luck they were having jinxed it. The rounded the corner only to come face to face with a large gorilla-ish man. For a split second they just stared at each other in shock. Then, right when he opened his mouth Cassie balled her fist and slammed her fist into his face. He stumbled back, dazed momentarily.

"Go!" Cassie yelled, and the boys complied hesitantly. But really, there wasn't anything they could do. She brought her arm back and landed another punch to the man's face. Ouch. The motion made her chest bounce. Distracted momentarily with the pain in her chest, Cassie found herself flung backwards into the wall by the man. Her still healing ribs ached in protest. She ducked as his fist smashed into the wall where her head had just been. Tackling him and forcing him backward, thus freeing herself from the wall, she kneed him in the stomach. Ow. Right, she now knew exactly why sports bras were invented. Bringing her fist around for a right hook she grunted in pain when the man grasped her fist. He was strong and she felt her knuckles crack. So she did the best thing she could think of. She brought his foot up as hard as she could slamming it right into his crotch. The man froze and a whine of pure pain escaped him. Pulling her fist free from his grasp she carried through her right hook and finished him off with a roundhouse kick. Although to be perfectly honest, the fight was basically over two moves ago.

Panting slightly she took off running in the direction the boys had gone. She hoped they hadn't run into anymore trouble. Of course life could never be easy right? She found Beast Boy in the midst of battle and Impulse propped up against the wall. Cassie joined the fray immediately and the man had no chance against the two of them.

"You guys okay?" She asked. Beast Boy nodded as he returned to retrieve Impulse. They headed down the hall and after going through a couple doors and a flight of stairs found themselves outside. That was when the cavalry arrived, the ship suddenly appearing in the sky and coming to land in front of them. The hatch/walkway lowered and she could see the other team who had been with them, Robin and Batgirl, as well as-

"Connor?" He was the first one off the ship and she took a few lighthearted steps towards him before grinding to a halt. She saw he did as well, although she wasn't sure if it was because she had stopped, or because of why she had stopped. She could feel her face burning. Her stupid annoying 'secret weapons' jiggled when she walked. Not overly so but enough to make her want to die of embarrassment. Maybe he hadn't noticed? She rubbed her upper arm, hiding them behind her arm as she tried to keep her expression normal. Connor's expression hadn't changed (when did it ever?), but he continued towards her. When he was close enough he shrugged off his coat and held it out to her. She blinked. Oh. My. God. He had noticed. "Thanks" she murmured taking it from him and slipping it on. He just nodded and then walked past her to help Beast Boy with Impulse.

"You guys okay?" Batgirl asked, as she and Robin (Tim Drake) and approached her. "When you didn't show up at the rendezvous point we figured something had happened." Cassie just nodded. She noticed Robin looking at her oddly, his head cocked to the side and his brows furrowed.

"What?" Cassie asked, not a little indignantly.

"You look...different," and there his eyes went. Down, down, down. "Have your-" Cassie cut him off by pulling Connor's jacket more tightly around her and brushing past him to speed walk to the ship.

"Can we just go?" She snapped. Her face was burning up. Why was it every time she saw Connor she couldn't look just normal? Bloody, check. With giant boobs, check. But nice and normal? No. And it seemed to be a real possibility that it would never happen. Why did life hate her?


	3. Month 2

3

Life was unfair. In the living area of Mt. Justice, Cassie sat staring at the blank TV and was very much alone. It had been relatively quiet for the past few days so the team was taking some much needed down time. Except for Cassie. Alright, alright, yes she was "off" too, but while everyone else got to go to the beach she had to sit at home "relaxing." Ugh. That word irked her. It was the Dr.'s orders though, so she couldn't do much about it especially since her team leader knew. She still had stitches on her head though, which apparently 'beach fun' did not mix with. During the whole Dr. Peterson thing apparently the metal rod, when it connected with her head, had busted it open quite a bit. After some stitching and a three week stay in the infirmary though, she was ready to go. And normally after almost two months was plenty of time for the stitches to do their work and be removed, so she should have been fine. Until she busted her stitches open. Five times. Three of those times happened off mission. Okay so she was a little rowdy when she was having fun, but did that really mean she had to be barred from going to the beach?

She sat there thinking about what she could do for the day. Her legs were criss crossed under her so she idly picked at one of the soles of her shoes. It was coming apart and she knew she'd need to replace them soon. Cassie didn't really like shopping all that much though, at least not alone. She thought of herself as more of a tomboy (which was probably partly responsible for her busted stitches). Going through a list of things she could do for the day; things that were "relaxing."

"What are you doing?" She jumped at his voice and turned to see Connor, stoic expression in place. Either he was ninja level quiet or she was really unobservant because he was standing right behind the couch looking down at her. What was Connor doing there? Hadn't he gone with the rest of the team? He didn't have any busted stitches (that she knew of).

"Uh," what was his question again? What was she doing? What _was_ she doing? "Picking at my shoes?" Why did it sound like a question! "The soles are coming off." She finished lamely in way of explanation. Was she always like this when she talked to him? No. He'd just surprised her, that's all.

"You should get new ones," Connor stated. Cassie blinked. Okay, she knew Connor pretty well she thought (or hoped), and she'd never heard him state the obvious or say anything unnecessary. He wasn't too talkative a guy. "I'll go with you."

Oh. Not unnecessary words then. "Uh, okay." What was she doing today? Spending the day with Connor Kent. Maybe life wasn't so unfair after all.

***  
Cassie was a little confused (though not unhappy) when they ended up entering the shopping area from the wrong end. As in the shoe store was on the complete opposite end of where they were.

They walked side by side. She had never realized he was as tall as he was before. When she chanced a glance at his face she immediately felt dejected though. He looked bored. Hands in his pockets and that slight frown on his face made her wonder why he'd come. It was his his suggestion even. So it wasn't her fault if he suddenly realized he would rather be at the beach with everyone else. But she didn't want him to go to the beach with everyone else!

"So did you need something at the store too?" She asked trying to start some kind of conversation. It was also a nice indirect way of asking him why he'd come (she congratulated herself on that).

"No." One word. That's all he gave her. She waited to see if he'd continue, but he didn't. Cassie gave a small sigh. Okay, dwelling on this was not a good idea. Connor wasn't a talker, she knew that and most of the time she liked that. What she didn't like was thinking he'd regret coming out with her. Racking her brain for some other topic to talk about. Unless he didn't want to talk in which case the day would be spent in silence. Except she knew he did talk, at least to his friends. To most of the newer members he'd said little (if anything at all). Well, he talked to her though...sometimes. Usually it was really short and to the point, but still.

Now, what could she-Oh! That's pretty! Cassie slowed her pace and stopped looking into the window of one of the stores. Okay she knew she considered herself a tomboy and all, but that was a really pretty sundress. It was red and cream colored and would have been perfect for the beach. You know if she actually wore dresses. Which she didn't. And if she could actually go to the beach. Which she couldn't. She figured she ought to catch up with Connor before he realized she had fallen behind (and see her looking at something so girly). But when she turned away from the window she saw he was still next to her. He'd stopped when she had and was looking into the shop window too. Now his eyes fell on hers, now that she was looking at him.

"Do you want to go in?" He sounded so casual and nonchalant as he asked her.

"Yes?" Why did it sound like a question! Why did everything she say sound like a question! She saw his eyebrow raise just barely, but he seemed to mentally shrug before walking into the store. Cassie was frozen momentarily before following after him. This felt so weird and unusual. But despite Cassie's confusion and, to be honest, a little fear (why?) she liked this. It sorta felt like... well, a date. She felt her face warm just a bit at the thought.

Then she found the dress. They even had her size. She couldn't keep her appreciative grin off her face. She held it in front of herself and looked down at it trying to see how it would look on her.

"Just try it on." She'd momentarily forgotten about Connor and jumped at his voice. Turning she saw him leaning against the wall hands in his pockets. How did he seem to make all of this seem so...casual...normal?

"I, uh don't really wear dressed," she hung it back on the rack quickly. Cassie had suddenly realized how silly this must seem to him, he'd probably always think of her as a girl. Wait was that a bad thing? Well she wanted him to respect her as a teammate and fighter. To acknowledge her abilities (which she totally had!). She just didn't want him to see her as some silly little girl. Dresses, for Cassie, were the epitome of girly. She gazed at the dress longingly. Connor must have noticed her shift in mood, and he was none too pleased.

"If you want to do something, do it." Cassie blinked. He hadn't sounded harsh, in fact he still had that somewhat bored tone to his voice. But somehow to Cassie it almost felt as though he was reprimanding her (or maybe disappointed in her) for not doing something she wanted just because of how she thought she would look to others. Well, to him really but Cassie was sure if that was his intention he meant it in a broader sense. She looked at the dress, and feeling a swell of courage she took the dress from the rack and marched towards the dressing room. Of course once she was there she felt so embarrassed she could die. Her face felt as though it were on fire. She placed her hands against her face to try to cool it down. When she looked in the mirror all she could think was how ridiculous she looked. This was not how a warrior behaved!

Angrily she started to change. Cassie was not some shy blathering teenager, she was Wonder Woman's apprentice! So she wasn't cut out for doing nice normal things like going on dates (not that this was a date). That made her feel a little dejected. Why oh why couldn't they have just sparred instead? She could have handled that perfectly! They would have bantered a little (maybe) and she'd be able to show off all she'd learned in the past few weeks. Oh, right. Stupid stitches. Then, she was finished. Cassie looked at herself in the mirror and her worrying was swept to the backburner.

She'd never really considered herself beautiful, especially when she was surrounded by so many more feminine teammates, but she thought if she ever did apply the word to herself, right then would be the perfect time.. Cassie wondered whether she should show Connor, he had been the one who suggested it (or rather spoken her thoughts aloud); that wouldn't be odd right?

Suddenly she heard giggling. Girl giggling. Annoying giggling. Peaking out of the dressing room door she saw Connor cornered by a group of girls. They were flirting with him, or attempting to at least. Maybe it should have made her jealous, but Cassie had to hold back her laughter. Connor looked so, scared? Freaked? Out of his element, and Cassie found that hysterical. Especially since that was how she'd been feeling most of the day so far. The girls didn't seem to notice his discomfort, Cassie did because she knew him. Okay, okay, it was fun watching this but she'd help him out.

Briskly walking towards them Cassie practically launched herself at Connor, throwing her arms around his upper arm.

"There you are!" Seriously, if she wasn't a superhero Cassie thought she'd be an awesome actress. Her tone was so sweet and affectionate that there was no way these girls would think she was anything other than his girlfriend. The fact that Cassie looked like she was out on a date, due to the lovely summer dress she was wearing helped too. "Making new friends?" She smiled sweetly turning her gaze to the girls. They looked speechless. Cassie had been smiling when she said it but the girls didn't miss the hard glare in her eyes. Back off girls, he's mine; seemed to be what she was conveying. Turning back to Connor she continued, "Come on, you haven't seen me try everything on yet!" She gave a slightly pouty look. When he didn't answer she just pulled him towards the dressing rooms, her arms still tightly wrapped around his arm. She heard one of the girls grumble about how 'of course he had a girlfriend.' Cassie smirked at that. Yeah she'd gotten all her 'know-how' from TV shows, but hey if it worked.

Once they rounded the corner the girls left her mind and she suddenly realized how she was holding him. Connor's upper arm was smushed right between her- Ah! Cassie dropped his arm immediately and her sudden action caused Connor to turn and look at her. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, he spoke.

"Thanks." Her mouth stayed open. "I'm not...good with those kinds of situations." Was it her imagination or was he blushing a little? Must be her imagination. Awww. He looked so cute and confused and..maybe a little down? Or maybe Cassie was reading into things way too much.

"What, dealing with fangirls?" She joked, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't think anyone learns to deal with that."

"No!" He didn't sound so casual or bored anymore. "With," he paused, "With any of...this." He seemed to gesture to …. her...and everything else? Wow, she'd never seen him so...was it possible to be angry and sad? Connor had always had a problem expressing what he wanted, unless it was straightforward and literal, then he was great. When it came to inner, uh stuff (feelings) he wasn't so hot. Cassie could understand. Not that she had a problem with that, if anything she expressed herself a little too much.

"That's okay," Cassie patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get better." He looked down at her. Connor just kind of continued to look at her, okay he was thinking that was clear, but 'gazing' into his eyes while he looked at her so intently was starting to freak her out. At least that's what she figured it meant when her heart seemed to speed up.

"I should go change." Cassie broke their...whatever it was. Connor nodded but before she could scurry into the the dressing room she heard him mumble something. Something that made her face warm up again

"It suits you."

***  
She found Connor outside the store leaning against the wall. He was back to that bored casual atmosphere, but to be honest Cassie liked it.

It had gotten really busy all of a sudden Cassie noticed. There were people everywhere. Probably because it was about lunch time.

"You didn't get it?" He asked noticing her empty hands. No she hadn't.

"I wouldn't have anywhere to wear it," she said sounding cheerful and dismissive. It was true she didn't really have a specific need for it, and besides it had been pretty expensive. So Cassie reasoned it wasn't worth it, she felt a little down about it though. This was why she didn't try things on. Because then she'd like it and want to get it and not be able to. She wasn't really paying much attention to where she was going as she thought. Having someone's shoulder slam into hers brought her attention back. Cassie hadn't even seen who it was! She looked around and found herself surrounded by people. None of them were Connor.

Oh no. She'd lost him. She stopped and swiveling her head in all directions she tried to look for him. Why wasn't she paying better attention? Cassie just stood there, people milling past her. Panic set in. Okay, not panic panic but something similar only on a smaller scale. With that came the thought that maybe Connor decided to go to the beach after all. Except Connor wasn't like that. And now she wasn't paying attention again.

"Cassie," she turned when she heard him call her. Cassie couldn't keep from smiling when she saw him. She felt relieved. What was wrong with her, this wasn't that big of a deal. It was funny though, Connor looked a little relieved too. Then he did something that surprised her. He took her hand. She looked at their hands then up at him.

"So we don't get separated again." Oh, right, yeah that made sense. It was just so they wouldn't get lost. Cassie was having a really hard time not reading into his actions. But she knew he was a little naive, well inexperienced maybe was a better word. He'd only been alive for less than ten years, so of course he did some stuff that seemed logical to him but maybe ya know meant something else to others. Something Cassie really wished he meant too. Maybe it was okay to pretend though, just for today.

***

Cassie held the bag up in triumph as she walked away from the cash register and back towards Connor. She'd gotten her shoes. Mission accomplished!

It surprised her that they had been out so long, just for a pair of shoes. But she wasn't complaining. Not really. Which was why Cassie couldn't help feeling sad that it was over and that they were now back at Mount Justice. Apparently everyone was not back from the beach, which meant they were alone for a little bit longer. Biting her lip, Cassie wondered whether they would just end up saying goodbye here, with him going to his room and her going to hers.

"Want something to drink?" Connor asked, inclining his head towards the kitchen. Setting her bag down she followed him in. Maybe it was strange that there was silence between them. But it wasn't an uncomfortable one. No, to Cassie it was rather nice. It was the complete opposite of her natural inclinations. So the silence helped still her thoughts. When she glanced up at Connor though... Should she ask him? About the day? Why he'd given up going to the beach with everyone else to hang out with her? Oh wait, the image of Connor on the beach somehow didn't fit. Yeah he probably wasn't too fond of them.

"What?" Oh, she'd been staring. But this time she didn't look away or feel all that shy.

"About today..." Cassie trailed off trying to figure out what she exactly wanted to ask him.

"I told you I wasn't good at this." He looked away, and to her he sounded a little dejected, well as dejected as Superboy could sound. Clearly he was still worried about his social skills. That was the only thing Cassie could think he'd be referring to.

"I had fun." She replied, partly because she wanted to reassure him but also because it was very, very true. He smiled at that. That small little half smile. She felt her heart jump again.

"Me too." Okay so she'd decided to not worry about the whole 'reading into stuff' thing but this was getting a little intense. She really didn't want to mess up the friendship that had started between them by suddenly assuming he liked her or something. Or worse by confessing and having him think she's some kind of love struck teenager.

"Right," she broke the silence turning to walk towards the fridge. "What did you-" Her shoe broke. Of all the times it could have happened it was right then. The sole of her shoe twisted in the front and she tripped. But she never hit the floor. Cassie felt an arm go around her, steadying her. She was mortified. Her back was against his chest (very warm and comfortable), and she was glad he couldn't see her face. Because this was all really confusing. Of course when she thought about it later she realized he could probably feel her speeding heartbeats.

"Is it okay," she muttered. More to herself than to him and she was sure that his face held some quizzical expression. "To read into this?"

***  
One and a half weeks later Cassie's stitches would be removed. One and a half weeks later there'd be another day at the beach, and one and a half weeks later Cassie would find a present outside her door. One and a half weeks later she'd be wearing the sundress.

**A/N**

So a happy normal 'life' chapter. Also more romancy stuff. I gotta say this is hard for me to write -_- Please let me know what you think. Too cliche? Too sappy? I tried really hard to not make Cassie silly or overly shy (since her character really isn't) but hey everyone in confusing strange situations aren't necessarily as brave as normal right? Also, thank you all so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them (it also reminds me I haven't updated in awhile he-he -_-;;).


	4. Month 3

4

Cassie never knew bruising could last so long. It had already been three months but her arm still held a faint yellow-green tint; the final stages of a bruise. Despite the doctor insisting that the original bruise had healed a good while ago and that she was just bruising the same area. Regardless of where she'd gotten the bruise though it still hurt. So did her head actually. But Cassie wasn't thinking about that right then because she had been most thoroughly distracted.

A group of them, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Robin 2.0, and Cassie had all gone out to the movies. When they got there though there was a small disagreement on what they wanted to see. A new independent Sci-Fi or a generic action film which was part of a franchise. So they'd split up. The two movies weren't the same length though. Which meant Cassie and Robin got back about thirty minutes after Batgirl and Bumblebee.

Generic action film was exactly what Cassie had needed though. Just the right mixture of mindless action with lame one liners to make her forget all about injuries and her slip-ups during missions. It was so much nicer to come back laughing with Tim Drake than alone and glum that was for sure.

"I'd seen the first one, which was pretty good, I kinda stopped after they made the third though." Drake said as they walked into the kitchen together. They talked a bit more about the movie and they laughed about the ridiculous action sequences. Both of them agreed that the hero would have been dead about ten times, or at least horribly injured within the first thirty minutes. But of course that was what made the movie so much fun. It was right when Drake made her laugh that Connor walked into the room.

"Hey," Drake said in greeting. Connor gave a half nod in reply before raising an eyebrow at Cassie, who was still giggling.

"We just got back from a movie," Cassie explained, she didn't know why but she felt the need to justify her behavior. Okay she knew why. It was because laughing like a maniac wasn't all that attractive.

"Just the two of you?" Connor asked flatly his gaze flicking between her and Drake. It must have been because he'd seen them all leave together that he asked. That was the only reasonable reason for him to ask a question like that. If it hadn't been Connor who asked, and it was said in the tone as he had said it... well Cassie might think something different. But Connor's tone was always fairly flat.

"Yeah, we ended up splitting up at the theater," Cassie replied giving a small smile. He seemed to be frowning more than usual. Or maybe she was imagining it.

"Hn," even though she had answered Connor seemed to be focusing on Drake, and his eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch. Was it just her or did it suddenly get really cold? Cassie glanced at Drake and he looked back, both of them unsure as to what was going on. Connor seemed...angry. But at what? Okay now it seemed as though he was ignoring her. All of his attention seemed to be honed in on Drake. Which was making the poor boy wonder really uncomfortable. Then, just as abruptly as his attitude had turned cold, he turned and left.

"What was that?" Drake asked quietly, just in case Connor was still in earshot.

"I have no idea," Cassie answered back just as quietly.

***  
The next few days were decidedly just as odd, and everyone noticed it. The Team had started giving him a wide berth. It wasn't as though he didn't talk with people and he certainly never verbalized any of his anger but nevertheless he was cold, distant and angry to everyone. Briefly Cassie wondered whether this was how he had been when he first joined the team. Regardless, everyone knew something had happened, just not what. Worse still it seemed a good part of his anger was directed at Drake. Cassie couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Really, she thought, it was as though that whole situation in the kitchen had just never ended. Of course Connor also seemed to ignore her. Okay that maybe wasn't fair. He still talked to her if she asked him something and all, but it was as though the past two months had never happened. Cassie had though their relationship (friendship) was growing. It had taken so long to build and now it seemed to have been stamped out in a matter of minutes.

Okay, so Cassie realized she had to do something. She wasn't the type of person to just wait around or hope everything worked out. No, she was proactive. So the first thing she knew she needed to do was figure out _why_ he was mad. If she were to read into things she might have easily and happily (ecstatically) concluded that he was jealous that she had gone on what might be construed by some as a date (ha, unlikely), with Robin. Unfortunately, as Cassie mulled this over she realized two major flaws.

Firstly, that she was reading into things. Something which had always been a problem for her. She fleetingly remembered a similar situation she had had back in middle school. She'd thought this boy had liked her, and it seemed a logical reason for why he kept looking at her all the time. But when she confronted him about it, and that meant asking him out, he seemed horrified at the very prospect and adamantly denied any interest in her. It all ended with him calling her crazy. Yeah, she was not going to make the same mistake here. Cassie was not going to presume that she knew how he felt towards her.

Secondly, while she felt he was ignoring her specifically that may not really be the case. For all she knew everyone else on the team felt he was ignoring them too. Which would mean the only thing that could be connected to all of this was Robin. He was afterall who Connor seemed to be focusing on. So in all likelihood none of this had anything to do with her.

Okay, so Robin was clearly involved. But how? That was a tough one. Mostly because they didn't really interact all that much. It must have been something that happened right before they had gone to the movie. Where were each of them prior to this? What could have possibly happened between the two? Well, now that Cassie was thinking about it she did recall they had been on a mission together recently. Whatever changed must have happened then. Although it didn't seem Robin knew what exactly he had done. But Connor didn't get angry for no reason. All of this was giving her a headache. Maybe if she talked with someone about it she'd get a better idea.

So she left her room and headed to the living area...which was empty. Great. Where was everyone? Plopping down on the couch she decided she'd never really figure out what he was mad at. Not all by herself anyway. But she knew it had to be fixed. Fixing she could do (probably). Now how to go about fixing Connor and Drake's relationship?

She heard voices behind her as some of her teammates entered the room.

"I'm just gunna give them away," she heard Beast Boy say. That peaked her interest.

"What are you giving away?" She asked. Beast Boy sighed at her question but held up three tickets.

"My mom gave them to me," he scoffed. "As if I or Jamie and Bart would actually want to go to an amusement park. How old does she think we are?" All Cassie had really heard was "giving away" and "amusement park tickets". A brilliant little plan started to formulate.

"Can I have them?" She asked excitedly. Beast Boy, Bart and Jamie looked at her like she was nuts.

"Are you sure you're older than us?" Bart asked. Well that soured her mood.

"Are you giving them away or not?" She asked flatly and not without a hint of annoyance. But he handed them over to her with a small shake of the head and a sigh.

"Sometimes we worry about you Cassie," Beast Boy said. She waited for the punch line. "Way too many hits to the head." She grumbled and left the three laughing boys. It wasn't even funny! It was probably her face...Bart always said she gave the funniest expressions when upset.

Heading back to her room, Cassie looked down at the three tickets. Oh, this was perfect! All she had to do was get the two of them together and she just knew (hoped) they could fix whatever it was that was that was broken. Yes, that's what she'd do.

It was almost as though fate were telling her the idea was wonderful as she saw Robin walking down the hall towards her, heading for the living room.

"Robin!" Cassie called, maybe a little too loudly.

"Yeah?" He asked raising an eyebrow (well he probably would have been if he wasn't wearing his mask). Robin looked a little reserved though when he answered her. She was probably overly excited, which usually didn't end well.

"I got these tickets for the amusement park from Beast Boy, do you wanna go?" Cassie asked, her words running together as she spoke so rapidly due to her mood.

"Uh, sure?" It sounded a little like a question but Cassie would take it!

"Great! I'll meet you tomorrow at noon at the park!" She smiled and started back towards her room.

"What?" She turned at his question. "Why wouldn't we just leave from here together?" Oh, shoot. She really couldn't just go from there because then he'd know Connor was going and Connor would know he was going and then neither of them would go! Once they got to the park it would already be too late. What was a good excuse?

"I, uh, have some errands I need to run in the morning down by there anyway, so I'm leaving really early." Great, now she'd have to leave early and sit around for a couple hours outside the park all by herself. Great excuse. But he seemed to accept that. Before he could question any further she bounded off down the hallway towards Connor's room.

Once she was there however she couldn't seem to bring herself to knock. Cassie didn't like to admit when she was scared but there wasn't really anyway around it now. It was funny, she wasn't scared when she was in battle, when her life was possibly at stake, but now, here, with this? What if he said no? What if he ignored her? Cassie hated the coldness he seemed to be able to produce so easily. Well, hated the way it made her feel. Taking a deep breath she raised her fist to knock.

She stopped and whirled around in surprise though when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Okay, not someone. It was Connor. He'd clearly just gotten back from the training room that was for sure. Cassie fought and failed at hiding the slight blush that crept into her cheeks.

"Uh, hi." She said lamely tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Why was she so nervous? She looked up at him and gave a weak smile. It was weak because he seemed to be making it really difficult to feel comfortable! He didn't really respond, instead simply waiting for her to continue. Right, maybe this was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

"Look, um, I know you've been kind of..." she grasped blindly for a good way to put it, "upset." Did it just get colder? Why did she have to bring up his mood! It clearly wasn't the best move. But she plowed ahead anyway. "So I thought maybe going to the amusement park would cheer you up." Ah, the blizzard was over. In fact looking up at him a bit shyly she saw he didn't really seem all that angry.

"With you?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Uh, yeah." She answered quietly and looking away. Oh no, was he not going to go because of her? Or did he think going to an amusement park was too childish? No! She'd worked hard on this plan (it took all of five minutes to formulate)!

"Sure," she looked back at him and blinked. If she squinted she could swear there was some kind of smile there too!

"Great!" She was so unbelievably happy, her plan was going to work! She'd fix everything! "I'll meet you tomorrow at the park, at noon!" She was about to skip off (okay not really but in her head for sure) when of course he had to ask the same question that Robin did. What an oversight on her part.

"Why aren't we leaving together?" Flat and to the point. She really did love that about him, except ya know when she had to lie.

"I'm doing some errands in the morning so-"

"I'll just go with you." He said oh so casually.

"No!" He raised an eyebrow. Shoot. She couldn't think of an answer for why he couldn't. Think Cassie think! "It's for uh...girl stuff." Yeah whatever that meant. He didn't really say anything to that. "So I'll see you there!" Then she got the hell out of there before he could ask anymore questions. Also so she could worry all night about what he thought when she said 'girl stuff.'

***  
Noon. It was the show down. And Cassie was ready (hopefully). She'd gotten up at the crack of dawn, just so she wouldn't run into either of them, and gone to a coffee shop to wait for five hours until she was suppose to meet them. She'd thought long and hard about whether she should wear The Sundress, and had decided against it. It was weird and completely irrational but she couldn't help but think it would feel too much like a date. Besides she didn't want either of them to really pay any attention to her; she was there more as a referee after all. So she wore the same thing she always did.

Standing in front of the gate Cassie started to feel a little anxious. She wondered who would show up first, both of them being the kind of person to show up on time, and whether the one who showed up second would see the other one and covertly escape. If it were Connor who showed up second Cassie wasn't sure whether he'd come seeing as he was the one with the problem. If it were Robin...Well he didn't have anything against Connor, but had clearly been avoiding him, which was understandable.

It was starting to get crowded, people lining up and heading into and out of the park. The afternoon seemed to be the place's busiest time. To Cassie's chagrin she realized everyone seemed to be parents taking their kids. Maybe Beast Boy had been right...But the amusement park was so much fun! No, there was no way Cassie would ever feel embarrassed about going to one. How could someone not like going on rides and playing silly rigged games?

And then she saw them. Both of them. Neither of them really saw the other because of the crowd. The cosmos was telling her this plan would work wasn't it! Everything was going so well so far!

"Hi guys!" She smiled as they approached, and it was only then when she said 'guys' that it registered someone else was there. They turned to look and saw each other. And there was that dark freezing aura again. That was quick. Robin just seemed to realize what she was doing and looked both exasperated and defeated. He shot her a look of 'why would you do this to me!' "Why don't we go in?" she gave them an awkward smile. This was a good plan right?

Neither of them seemed happy, Connor angry and Robin just really, really uncomfortable, but they both followed her in. Wow. Cassie remembered going to an amusement park when she was a kid but that was a long time ago. She started getting excited just seeing all the rides; this was going to be so much fun!

"Let's go there!" Cassie pointed, completely forgetting the reason she was there and the evil aura that seemed to surround her companions.

"Maybe we should get a map," Robin suggested. But Cassie would have none of that.

"We don't need a map!" She exclaimed, "we can just explore!" With that she grabbed their wrists and dragged them onward.

It was a few hours and at least ten rides later that Cassie remembered she was not there to have fun. It was easy to forget, not just because she was having fun but because it seemed her attitude was somewhat contagious. In fact it was only when they took a breather when she remembered, because that was when the anger and uncomfortable atmosphere returned. Okay, the only way Cassie knew to solve problems between people was for them to talk it out. Which would probably be easier without her there. Hmmm, how to go about this tactfully. Ah-ha! Perfect.

"Hey I'm gonna go try to win something," she pointed to the shooting booth a few yards down the path. "Why don't you guys stay here and chat." Okay not so tactful but still. It was about the best she could do. She left before either of them could say something like 'we'll go with you' or whatever. They were both the kind of people to do that especially since it seemed they didn't really want to talk to each other. But they needed to, and she would facilitate that.

Cassie realized early in that she was a terrible shot. She was already on her third try and she couldn't hit the bullseye! Everywhere around it she'd get but not the center. It was when she was getting ready for her fourth try that Connor and Robin joined her.

"Hey," she greeted, noticing the atmosphere between them hadn't really changed. "You guys have a nice talk?"

"No." Connor's flat, and to be honest a little dark, tone worried Cassie. She wondered whether he meant 'no we didn't have a good talk' or 'no we didn't talk at all.' Glancing at Robin she figured it was probably the latter. They likely just stood there in a cold and uncomfortable silence until one of them (Robin most likely) decided to join her for safety.

She had two shots left in the fake rifle, so being sure to aim as carefully as she could she tried again. Missing both times was making her mood as sour as the boys. Well, not as sour at all really. She really wanted that stupid stuffed dog though.

"One more time," Cassie told the man behind the counter, her frustration seeping into her voice.

"How many times have you done this?" Robin asked. From the way he said it he knew it was probably more than twice.

"Four before this," she answered in a sort of mumble. Clearly conveying she knew she wasn't the best at these things. "But this time I'll get it!" Her eyes were set on her prize. Yeah, who cared what Robin or anyone said, she could do it!

"Do you want me to get it for you?" Robin offered. Cassie realized it was probably almost painful for him to watch her missing so much, especially when he could probably get it on his first shot.

"No," she replied hotly.

"Let her try it again." She turned to look at Connor. His arms were crossed and he wasn't really looking at her but it felt nice to know maybe he thought she had a chance. Or maybe he just didn't know her all that well. "Don't aim at the center, just off to the right." He advised. "It's weighted."

She nodded, raised the rifle, and fired. She'd never been so happy in her life! Okay, monumental exaggeration but still.

"I did it!" She clasped her hands excitedly and happily accepted her prize. Robin shook his head but was smiling. It was probably her expression and reaction; Bart was dead on about that. Connor looked oddly triumphant, as though somehow he'd been the victor of something.

"Where to next?" She asked them. She felt a bit bad about dragging them all over doing all the things she wanted to do. Then again maybe they didn't really care. As both of them kinda shrugged at her question. "Okay..." she racked her brain as to what they could do. Since they seemed to not talk when she left them alone she'd have to be there to make sure it happened. Where could she take them that was quiet, long and hard to escape from? She snapped her fingers when the idea hit her. "Ferris wheel."

***  
She could see it in the distance, it was so big it was hard to miss. But for some reason they couldn't get to it. Cassie dropped down onto the bench in annoyance. They'd been walking around for twenty minutes trying to get to the stupid thing and yet she just seemed to be getting them more and more lost.

"I'm going to go get us a map." Robin said, his voice said it all: 'I told you so.' Even though he was right he didn't have to seem so happy about it. Okay, that was one of the things she actually liked about Robin. She liked that they teased each other, it was what having a brother would be like, or at least that's what she thought. So she muttered a 'fine' and Robin left leaving her and Connor alone. The atmosphere was much better as soon as Robin left and yet it still felt a little awkward.

"So..." she started, just because she needed to break the silence.

"You didn't tell me he was coming." He looked at her pointedly. Cassie wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Of course she didn't tell him! Otherwise he probably wouldn't have gone. Although her plan seemed to be falling apart. She'd gotten them together but they hadn't talked at all. Maybe she could get Connor to tell her why he was so mad at Robin.

"Robin's a really nice guy," Cassie answered. "He's a lot of fun to spend time with and I'm sure if-" She didn't finish. Whoa. Wrong thing to say. The evil aura had returned in full force and she could see his jaw clenched and eyes glaring. For a moment it looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't instead he just turned around a walked away. "Connor, wait!" She called jumping up from the bench.

"What's going on?" Robin came up from behind her. Cassie looked from him to Connor, who was getting further and further away.

"I don't know!" She exclaimed. She was in a state somewhere between aggravation, anxiety and sadness. Turning back to Robin she grasped his shoulders practically shaking him. "You gotta go talk to him!"

"What?" He asked not just a little alarmed. "No way! Have you seen the death glares he's been giving me?"

"Grow a backbone and go talk to him!" This time she did shake him. "I tried talking to him and it didn't work!" A thought occurred to her. "Maybe it's a guy thing?" She could tell he didn't want to do it but she could also see her plea was having an effect.

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth. Cassie let go of him and he headed after Connor. She stood by the bench and watched as Robin caught up to him. She couldn't hear anything but it looked like Connor had stopped walking and there was some kind of exchange of words. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Maybe she'd made it worse. She hadn't really considered that it could possibly get worse.

Then they seemed to be finished talking and headed back towards her. Her heart pounded. The suspense was killing her!

"Is everything okay?" Cassie asked as they approached. The fact that the dark aura was gone was a good sign.

"We talked." Connor stated in answer his casual nonchalant tone having returned. Well that answered all her questions right there. Could he be anymore specific? She supposed it wasn't really any of her business. In any case both of them looked like they were back to normal! Robin looked a little confused but maybe she was imagining it.

"So I guess we should find the ferris wheel." Cassie suggested.

"Actually I think I'm gonna go," Robin said surprising her and Connor (a little).

"What? Why?" Cassie asked. The real question there was 'didn't you have fun?' Robin knew that of course and smiled slightly at her question.

"It was a lot of fun Cassie, despite the whole..." He glanced at Connor before clearing his throat. "I'm just tired." Cassie nodded accepting this although she figured he wasn't telling her the real reason, whatever it might be. "Here," he held out the map. Cassie tried to take it, but before she could he handed it to Connor. "You better take this. She's got a terrible sense of direction."

"I do not!" She protested. Robin just winked and then waved goodbye.

And once again it was just her and Connor. He opened the map and they finally figured out how to get to the ferris wheel. There wasn't much of a line when they got there so the two of them got one compartment all to themselves. It was one of those huge ferris wheels that took a half hour to go all the way around. Looking out through the glass they could see the sunset. All and all everything seemed to have turned out okay. Her plan had worked. A large part of her was very proud of that. Cassie glanced at Connor, he seemed... content.

"Hey," she began, moving to sit beside him instead of across from him. Figuring she'd probably end up blushing or with some kind of weird expression by the time the conversation ended (assuming it went according to plan), it would be harder for him to see her from beside him. "I hope you had a little fun today."

"I did." He sounded sincere, which pleased her.

"Good. I'm glad." Silence. She took a deep breath. "I didn't tell you Robin was coming because I wanted to get you guys together," she discovered a disadvantage of sitting beside him was that she couldn't see his expression too well either. "Because your relationship with a teammate is really important I think." She concluded.

"It's nice that you care." He sounded like he was smiling. She wondered whether he did in fact smile a lot more, but only when no one was looking. Hiding his handsome smile...she wanted to see it!

"Of course I care," Cassie was planning on patting him on the shoulder but somehow her hand ended up resting on top of his. Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own. She knew she should move it and was about to when Connor flipped his hand over so his palm faced upwards. And then they were holding hands. Yeah, she was really glad she was sitting next to him. She could feel herself blushing.

It was a perfect moment. The two of them at the top of the ferris wheel, and bathed in the yellow-orange glow of the sunset. Hands intertwined.

-A/N-

Comments and criticism is very, very welcome! Let me know whether they seem in character or not sometimes I'm not sure...

Please review!


	5. Month 4

5

She knew she shouldn't really enjoy these things as much as she did. The missions. The battles. But Cassie loved them. It was so easy to just forget everything and completely focus on taking out the giant lug-head in front of her. Right at the moment Cassie couldn't have said why they were there exactly, no she was too caught up in the fight to really remember. But it was an important mission since Nightwing had sent several of them on it. Her, Connor, Bart, Batgirl, Jamie, and Beast Boy.

With a swift, powerful final uppercut, Cassie's attacker fell back unconscious. She smiled to herself, satisfied. All her training had paid off. Taking a sweep of the field she saw Connor taking on some tall mantis-like creature. Beast Boy was down, Batgirl, Bart and Jamie defending him from three of the creatures. Cassie would have gone and helped Connor. Not that he really needed it; but she wanted to. But then Bart suddenly got hit. With his incredible speed Cassie was shocked it had happened. Then she remembered; it had only been two and a half months since his leg had been broken.

Without another second thought, Cassie dashed forward towards the creature approaching her dazed teammate. Launching herself into the air and twisting her body, she slammed both her feet into the creature's head, sending it careening across the rocky ground. Cassie landed nimbly on her feet, and charged before her opponent could recover.

But her enemy was faster than she had anticipated. The large beast moving just fast enough to avoid her carefully aimed attacks. She must have only been able to hit it the first time because it hadn't seen her coming, having been focused on Bart. Cassie growled in frustration as she missed once again. At this rate she would end up tired out before she even got one hit in. Gritting her teeth she remembered one of the training sessions she'd had with Nightwing. He'd told her that a continuous offense was not always, if ever, the best strategy. It used up too much energy and too few attacks actually landed; so the damage to energy usage was disproportional. Her mentor, Wonder Woman, was who Cassie had always tried to emulate regarding fighting style, and her mentor never really stopped attacking. So it was difficult for Cassie to do as Nightwing had said. This time though, she could see how it might be the best.

Cassie stopped. She kept her fists raised and her gaze trained on her enemy but she'd stopped her advances towards it. It was the beast's move. For a moment they just circled one another, then it struck. She didn't know why she was still surprised by the thing's speed, but she barely had enough time to jump back. The second time though, Cassie knew what she wanted to do. Instead of jumping back when the beast's fist extended towards her, she sidestepped it. Grasping its extended forearm with one hand, she balled her other into a fist and slammed it into the junction between its forearm and upper arm. There was a loud cracking noise, followed by a howl of pain. Cassie smirked, but didn't have time to feel all the proud of herself as she was suddenly grabbed by the throat. Instinctively, both of her hands pulled at the hand that was clamped around her throat. She tried to swing a kick at the thing's head but she couldn't quite reach it.

The beast growled something in an alien language; clearly he wasn't happy about his broken arm. She was gasping for breath and while her body screamed at her to focus on the grip around her neck, she knew that hurting the thing the hand belonged to was more beneficial than trying to hurt the hand. So one of her hands let go of the beast's wrist and flew to her waist, where her lasso was. She flung one of the ends out, wrapping it around her enemy's injured arm and yanked as hard as she could. It roared in pain, but instead of letting go it crushed her against the cave's wall. She grunted when she impacted with it and when the rocks dug into her back. Cassie glared and tightened her lasso further.

Then, there was a rush of wind and her lasso was ripped from her hand. Cassie would have felt fear if not for seeing the monster's broken arm, still caught by her lasso pulled behind him so fast and violently that he let go of her and was pulled to the ground by the sheer force of speed. In seconds he was completely wound in the lasso. Cassie had fallen to the ground coughing, and when she looked up she saw a triumphant Bart.

"Need some help?" He asked smiling cheekily. She couldn't help smiling back, he was always so energetic even in the midst of battle.

"You wish." Cassie replied, a smile in her voice. Bart came forward to help her to her feet but Cassie had already pushed herself up. She rubbed her bruised throat, glad it was covered by her shirt, for she knew there were probably purple indents where the creature's fingers had dug into her. "We should-" she didn't finish. She was about to say they should help the others, she could see Batgirl and Jamie now facing only one enemy, but Connor... That was why she couldn't finish her sentence. Her words were cut off by his cry of pain. Cassie's eyes snapped to him and her mouth went dry. The mantis thing was producing some kind of green energy from its head that was shooting out right at Super Boy. He was holding his head and seemed almost frozen as the green beam centered on her forehead. It was a psychic attack.

Cassie shot forward using her flight, and going as fast as she could tackled the creature, effectively stopping its attack. Later, Bart would tell her she looked scary as she repeatedly punched the mantis in the face. He'd tell her her face was darker than he'd ever seen. But at the moment Cassie didn't notice how her face was contorted or how the skin on her knuckles broke as she used her full strength. When the thing was lifeless before her she fell back from it and turning her head she looked at Connor. She scrambled towards him and fell down in front of him, for he was now on his knees.

"Connor?" She asked, grabbing his face between her hands and looking into his eyes. Her breath caught, because his eyes looked empty. "Connor?" Her voice was frantic now, and her hands moved to his shoulders to shake him.

"What happened?" Cassie looked up to see Nightwing. Cassie didn't see the concern on his face or hear it in his voice, the only thing she could think was that he hadn't been there.

"Where were you?" She asked, her voice was accusatorial. In reality she was just angry. Angry that it had happened at all. But right then it was easy to by angry at Nightwing who seemed to be absent through the whole battle. In the back of her mind she knew he had chased after whoever was the 'mastermind' behind whatever they were fighting against, but right then she couldn't recall. Nightwing looked taken aback by her words, but Cassie didn't let him answer. "We have to get him back," she said, her anger replaced by worry.

Nightwing helped her carry him back to the ship and they left quickly. Cassie couldn't pull her eyes away from Connor's vacant face.

He was in the medical bay now. M'gann was in there with him, using her powers to try to see the extent of the damage and to fix whatever she could. Cassie waited in the hall. M'gann had been in there a long time and Cassie couldn't help but think something must be really wrong if it was taking so long. She looked up when she heard a noise, but it wasn't the door opening. It was just Nightwing. He came and stood next to her.

"You know, they'll tell you when he's awake." Nightwing pointed out. Cassie nodded; she knew this of course. Mr. Martian, who was also inside the room, as well as M'gann would tell them if anything changed. But still, Cassie wanted to be there.

"I'm sorry," Cassie said quietly, and Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "For what I said, before," she elaborated. "I wasn't blaming you or anything." He was her superior and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed that she couldn't keep her emotions under control.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled and then ruffled her hair. She shot his a feigned look of annoyance as she straightened her hair and he laughed. Then the door slid open. Both of them watched as M'gann and her uncle exited the room. Just behind them, Cassie could see Connor. He looked unconscious.

"He will recover," Mr. Martian told them and Cassie sighed in relief.

"It was pretty bad though," M'gann amended. "He should recover, but he experienced a lot of psychic trauma," she explained.

"Can I see him?" Cassie asked; she thought she saw M'gann's jaw tighten a little but she nodded. She led Cassie into the room.

"He's been given a sedative so he's not lucid," M'gann paused, as though she had something else she wanted to say. Cassie waited. "I was able to speak to him, in his mind." M'gann started. She looked serious when she looked at Cassie, and Cassie couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. "I'm not mad at you." Cassie just blinked. "I just wanted you to know that." With that M'gann left the room, closing the door behind her.

For a long moment Cassie just stood there. M'gann wasn't mad at her. Why would she be mad at her in the first place? What had she- Something clicked. Cassie had been angry when it had happened, angry at Nightwing, but also angry at herself. If M'gann had seen what had happened in the fight then she would know that Cassie had the choice to help Connor, but had gone to help Bart instead. Did she help the wrong person? Was it her fault Connor was like this? M'gann must think so. And now Cassie was starting to think so too.

She sank into the chair by Connor's bed and looked at him. His eyes were half open and he had a IV in his arm. It was so wrong to see Connor like this; too unnatural. He was Super Boy after all. He didn't get hurt. He was strong and smart and a good fighter. The image of him blurred before her and she realized her eyes were filled with tears. Cassie leaned forward and took his hand.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Cassie was a little surprised when he started to sit up. "Wait, Connor!" Cassie started. She was pretty sure he shouldn't be sitting up when he was just coming out of a coma and was on sedatives. When he looked at her though she stopped speaking. His eyes still looked clouded and he moved lethargically. "Connor," she began again, but stopped once again when his hand cupped her cheek. And she was pretty sure she stopped breathing when he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Cassie was sure her heart had stopped as well.

Right when she was about to kiss him back though, he promptly fell back onto the bed. This time his eyes were closed and he was definitely unconscious. Cassie was completely frozen in place. She didn't know what she expected but it wasn't that. Her face burned and she waited a few minutes more, wondering whether he would wake up again. Finally she got to her feet and exited the room. Her face was still a little pink. She saw Mr. Martian was still there and a question suddenly popped into her head.

"Is there anyway Connor could have been lucid if he..." Cassie stopped, thought, and then continued. "If he said something, I mean would he remember, or know what he was... uh... saying?" Mr. Martian looked at her stoically.

"He was heavily sedated," there was her answer. So he wasn't lucid. Cassie wondered what that meant then. She supposed he wouldn't remember for sure but... she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. What if he had thought she was M'gann? That was who he had been talking to, in his head at least. And if he was really out of it then... Cassie shook her head and headed back to her room. She felt even more awful than she had before. Taking a deep breath she told herself to forget about it, to pretend nothing had happened.

It didn't matter what she wanted to do though, tears stung her eyes nevertheless.

**A/N**

Comments and criticism / reviews are really appreciated! Sorry for the long wait for the chapter (and a short one at that -_-;;) But thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed it! Two chapters left!


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